Pemaknaan Simbol dan Manajemen Makna Mahasiswa Alumni Pesantren Indonesia yang Menempuh Pendidikan di Rusia

Abstract

Indonesian Islamic Boarding School Alumni carry out meaning management on the bad stigma from Russian society so that they cannot carry out religious practices that symbolize Islam. This study aims to understand the meaning of symbols and meaning management using a phenomenological approach. The theories used in this research are Symbolic Interactionism Theory and Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). This research uses an interpretive paradigm with an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. The results of this study found three main themes, namely: Islamic symbols in a multicultural context, the dynamics of cultural meaning management in Russia and the value of Islamic Boarding School as a foundation for facing the challenges of change. The conclusion of this study shows that there are similarities in the experience of interaction in interpreting Islamic symbols involving the background of Islamic boarding school values as a foundation, but other informants have experiences of feeling anxious and worried when they do not perform religious practices because they get a bad response from the local community. Therefore, differences in host culture areas play a role in responding to discriminatory behavior. In addition, the lack of language mastery is a major obstacle when interacting.